Political Row Erupts Over Advance UK Meeting At Wootton Bridge Community Centre

The leader of Advance UK, Ben Habib, has hit back at an Isle of Wight councillor who described his party’s views as “abhorrent”.

Mr Habib, the former co-deputy leader of Reform UK, said Independent Socialist Cllr Geoff Brodie was “putting out spurious claims” over Advance’s upcoming meeting at Wootton Bridge Community Centre on Saturday, October 18.

County Hall owns the community centre and its land but a registered charity, the Wootton Bridge Community Association, leases the building.

Cllr Brodie previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he was “appalled” Wootton Bridge Community Association was allowing a “divisive, political organisation” to hold the event at the community centre.

The Pan and Barton representative suggested it was against the charity’s “published charitable objectives” to permit the forum and pointed to the association previously denying the East Wight Primary progressives’ campaign access to the venue “on that basis”.

The Charity Commission told the LDRS it is “currently assessing concerns” over “alleged political activity” at the association.

Wootton Bridge Community Association declined to comment.

Cllr Brodie also made further remarks on the meeting:

“Immigration, whether legal or illegal, is being used by certain politicians to divide people at a time when most of the problems of society – cost of living, privatisation, the costs of Covid corruption, etc – lie with governments.

“Yes, the illegality needs to be dealt with by governments, but blaming people for fleeing danger and preferring the UK to other countries is not the way.”

Responding this morning (October 13), Mr Habib said:

“Immigration is the number one issue as far as the electorate are concerned – there have been multiple polls done – immigration comes out at the top by miles in terms of people’s concerns.

“The only thing Advance UK has thus far published from itself as a party is our mission statement.

"Our mission statement doesn’t even mention immigration – it merely states that we stand for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in all its parts and for all its people.

“We stand by our Christian constitution, we stand by freedom for the people, freedom of speech, freedom from the overly interventionist state, freedom from the indoctrination of our children – we stand for democracy in this country, making sure our elected officials can be held to account and we stand for equality under the law.

“None of that can be regarded as divisive.”

Reform UK’s 2024 general election candidate for Isle of Wight East, Sarah Morris, who is now aligned with Advance UK, will be hosting the meeting.

Asked why she left Reform, Mr Habib said “a lot of people” had left the party which he added “doesn’t seem to have a political philosophy” and “oscillates all over the place”.